Our Sites

How East Coast Skateboarding of the '90s Influenced Streetwear

Look at any streetwear brand or personality today. Whether they picked up on 5-panel hats, camo-print pants, or fly sneakers, there’s a good chance their style was influenced by East Coast skaters of the ‘90s and early 2000s. That's right, EAST COAST. No disrespect to our friends on the West Coast, but there’s something indicative about skate style that flourished from Boston to Washington, D.C. during that time.

Skaters such as Josh Kalis, Gino Ianucci, and Jahmal Williams helped influence style long before Pharrell Williams was “Skateboard P,” Lupe Fiasco told you to “Kick, Push,” or Lil Wayne was “Baked.” Yes, skate culture and hip-hop go hand-in-hand, but it wasn’t always the case. Thanks to a style-forward subculture, the two are now able to influence each other equally.

Skate videos and magazines are the Bible for skateboarders, and we've diligently dug through dusty issues and busted VHS tapes to compile trends that East Coast skaters (with a little help from East Coast-approved West Coast skaters) helped make popular. So break out a ghetto blaster, Jeru the Damaja tape, and 40oz or two: this is How East Coast Skateboarding Influenced Streetwear.